Michael Lindley, False Claims Act, Washington 2024

Washington D.C. – In a scathing indictment of corporate greed, the U.S. Department of Justice has joined a whistleblower lawsuit against The Gallup Organization, a leading polling firm, for allegedly ripping off the government millions of dollars in false claims.

The lawsuit, filed by former Gallup employee Michael Lindley, accuses the company of inflating the number of hours worked on federal contracts with the U.S. Mint, the State Department, and other agencies.

"Contractors must understand that it is unlawful to use inflated estimates to obtain higher contract prices," said Stuart F. Delery, Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Department’s Civil Division.

The complaint alleges that Gallup gave the government inflated estimates of the number of hours it would take to perform its services, even though it had separate and lower internal estimates of the number of hours that would be required.

"Contractors who do business with the federal government must honor their obligations to provide honest services and products," said U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr.

The lawsuit, which was filed in the District of Columbia, is captioned U.S. ex rel. Lindley v. The Gallup Organization, 09-cv-01985.

The government intervened in the lawsuit with respect to Gallup’s contracts with the Mint and the State Department, and plans to assert additional claims related to Gallup’s subcontract with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

The whistleblower provisions of the False Claims Act allow private parties to sue on behalf of the United States for submission of false claims to the government, and permit the government to intervene and take over primary responsibility for litigating the lawsuit.

The lawsuit seeks recovery of three times the government’s losses, plus civil penalties, and could potentially cost Gallup millions of dollars in damages.

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